Romney told debate moderator Jim Lehrer, whose
PBS News Hour program also is subsidized by the Public Broadcasting Service, that if
elected to the White House he would end federal PBS funding — long a goal for some U.S.
conservatives.

“I’m sorry, Jim, I’m going to stop the subsidy to PBS. I’m going to stop other things. I like
PBS, I love Big Bird. Actually like you, too. But … I’m not going to keep on spending money on
things to borrow money from China to pay for,” Romney said after Lehrer asked him to state how he
would differ from President Barack Obama in tackling the federal deficit.

Romney’s vow of tough love for the 8-foot-2 yellow character drew ridicule from Obama
yesterday.

“When (Romney) was asked what he’d actually do to cut the deficit and reduce spending, he said
he’d eliminate funding for public television. That was his answer,” Obama, who faces Romney in the
Nov. 6 election, told a rally in Denver.

It was not the first time that Romney’s taken aim at Big Bird. He told supporters at a campaign
stop last December that PBS funding was doomed under a Romney administration and “Big Bird is going
to have to have advertisements.”

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind the long-running children’s educational show
Sesame Street, declined to enter the fray, saying on its blog: “We do not comment on
campaigns, but we’re happy we can all agree that everyone likes Big Bird.”

The character of Big Bird first appeared on the show 43 years ago.

Sherrie Rollins Westin, executive vice president of Sesame Workshop, said in an interview on CNN
yesterday that
Sesame Street receives only a small portion of its funding from PBS, with the bulk coming from
philanthropy, product licensing, and corporate underwriting and sponsorship.

“When they always sort of trot out Big Bird and say, ‘We’re going to kill Big Bird,’ that
actually is misleading because
Sesame Street will be here,” Westin said.